I listened to, and bought, far less than any year before. There are a bunch I wish I could have heard earlier and still haven't heard, but here goes, since it's the end of the year. This could very well change greatly. That, or I'll just forget and/or be too lazy to change any of it.


01. Avett Brothers - I and Love and You - was instantly hooked with this one and I have no signs of getting over it.
02. Elvis Perkins in Dearland - s/t
03. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
04. Mike Doughty - Sad Man Happy Man
05. Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin - self released in '08, picked up by Nonesuch and re-released this year, may be cheating, but saw them open for Josh Ritter and it was a slow build, but they grabbed me.
06. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
07. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
08. Ravonettes - In & Out of Control - Listened to this one late, but the first three songs knocked my socks off, stays pretty damn good, too.
09. Brand New - Daisy
10. Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy
11. Felice Brothers - Yonder Is the Clock
12. Dead Man's Bones - s/t - I listened to this almost non-stop in September and October, but haven't put it on since then. If I made a list of favorite songs of the year 'My Body's a Zombie for You' would be high and three or four others would probably make it.
13. Regina Spektor - Far
14. Coconut Records - Davy - Some of this sounds a lot like Brendan Benson, which definitely isn't a band thing.
15. Langhorne Slim - Be Set Free
16. Bowerbirds - Upper Air
17. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!
18. Mountain Goats - Life of the World to Come
19. A.A. Bondy - When the Devil's Loose
20. Monsters of Folk - s/t

I just got this for Christmas, and it is GOOG. Probably would have made the lower reaches of my list, if I have heard it in time.

You've got Monsters of Folk too low. Just sayin'...

good list

I never heard the Avett or Felice Brothers records.

I like the Built To Spill, Andrew Bird and Dan Auerbach albums but all three are like half good, half filler.

I've heard very few of those, and I need to spend more time with the Elvis Perkins and Coconut Records albums.

I'm a sucker for the Avett Brothers' title track. The rest of it is a "no skip" disc and I like it more every time I listen to it.

Got Monsters of Folk late. If I had a little more time with it, it would probably be a bit higher.


I was pleasantly surprised with Built to Spill. I thought it was their best in a while. Not my favorite Andrew Bird, but I'm pretty devoted to him, so it was a given for me and received a predictably high spot. Plus, I heard a lot of those songs for the first time live. I was underwhelmed with Auberbach's the first few listens, but it's grown on me.


I would marry Elvis Perkins in a heartbeat. His live shows are so much fun. I'm completely hooked. Coconut Records isn't groundbreaking, but it's solid and some really great pop, imo.

Thanks, Patrick, we always seem to agree.

That Mountain Goats keeps growing on me... didn't like it at first.

Good list. I think "the first" list is never the final one.

never heard any of these

Mountain Goats definitely grew on me, it was a slow start, but there was a point sometime during Autumn when I was listening to it at least once a day.

...and, you're right. I will probably mull over this more and re-position. I'm also still not opposed to adding/subtracting.


Out of those, the above are the ones I would suggest first for you, I think.